One of the fundamental concerns of our time is the status of our children. History makes evident the confusion about the nature of the child and shows the child to be of an exploited class. The nightmare continues for today’s children as isolation, escape, frustration, and maltreatment cycle through the generations. Until we come to a broader understanding of the crisis, no amount of social, economic or philosophical change will be sufficient to afford children the protection from harm they require to achieve their full potential and become productive rather than destructive or burdensome members of society.

The Dignity Project identifies the fundamental changes now occurring which make this an age of anxiety and violence: loss of values, loss of relationship to nature, the movement from community-based to individualistic society, and unreasonable and unhealthy demands on the nuclear family.

The Dignity Project views the status of today’s children as a challenge. We have failed to “see” the child. The solution calls for us to know the child and his/her absolute right to dignity. It calls for an environment that is safe and inviting to children, which will unleash their potential for unique expression.

The Dignity Project education program promotes the recognition of the universal needs of children and fosters the development of dignity through training and education for child advocates. It is an educational campaign designed for television, publications, symposia, study and training programs, and community outreach. As child advocates become practitioners and teachers of the Project’s concepts, they will have the ability to free and channel the potential in children.